Bhubaneswar: Putting an end to the confusion over the validity of the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), Odisha Health Secretary Shalini Pandit said that the health plan launched by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government is still applicable.
The MoU signed by the state government with private hospitals regarding the BSKY is still valid. The Health Department has said that the news of the non-availability of healthcare services to BSKY card holders is a rumour.
Soon after the BJP won the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state this week, some people have wrongly been spreading the misinformation that private hospitals in Odisha will no longer offer treatment to BSKY card holders. As a result, many BSKY beneficiaries are being returned by the private hospitals in the state, the rumor-mongers said.
However, Shalini Pandit has clarified that such information is a rumour as the BSKY is still valid in the state.
On Wednesday, BJP state unit president Manmohan Samal issued a statement that once the BJP forms it government in Odisha, it will discontinue the BSKY and introduce the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme in the state. Later, Manmohan said that it is a social crime to create confusion in the minds of the people and prevent them from availing healthcare services under the BSKY scheme. The state BJP also issued a press release saying that the ‘BSKY’ card was not closed.
